Air Canada to unveil wireless inflight entertainment system with Rouge launch

Air Canada Rouge to feature wireless inflight entertainment system

Air Canada will introduce a new wireless inflight entertainment system on its low-cost carrier Rouge when it launches Monday. But what content you get and how successful you are at streaming it will be largely dependent on the personal electronic device you use.

Rouge passengers will be able to stream stored movies, TV, and music, on their personal devices for a $5 fee in economy, and for free on a premium economy, or Rouge Plus, fare.

For the month of July the content will be provided to everyone free on an introductory basis.

PC laptops will be able to stream all-content immediately using a plug-in that can be downloaded onboard. But if Rouge passengers bring an Apple product, like an iPhone, iPad, or Macbook, they will be required to download Air Canada’s free app from the Internet prior to boarding to access the premium Hollywood content.

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“If you don’t have the app, for whatever reason, you’ll still be able to access TV content, music through the regular browser just like anyone else,” said Anton Vidgen, Air Canada Rouge vice-president of corporate development. “The app is just Hollywood’s way of adding an additional layer of security.”

Mr. Vidgen said Hollywood studios are “extremely nervous” about streaming content to passengers own devices, in part, because they may be able to steal the content depending on the software on those devices. The app and the encryption technology contained in the plug-in and app prevents that.

“We believe we are the first airline to have this layer of copyright protection that has given the Hollywood studios sufficient comfort that their content cannot be copied,” Mr. Vidgen said.

He said the reason an app is required for Apple products and not a PC is because of the way the player technology works on those devices.

“Apple is unique because they require downloads through the Apple store, and that’s why you have to download [the app] on the ground before you board,” Mr. Vidgen said.

Each device has its own idiosyncrasies. But for launch, Rouge has optimized its inflight entertainment for just PC and Apple products because they are the most common devices.

“When you look at introducing the same thing for Android players, Google Nexus, Samsung Galaxy, and so forth, there’s a lot more complexity to those, because each device has its own software configuration,” Mr. Vidgen said. “But we’re absolutely looking at introducing it for those.”

In the meantime, each one of those devices will have varying levels of success with connectivity and playback when Rouge launches , he added

Several other airlines have been looking at streaming inflight entertainment , rather than using traditional seat-back entertainment, including WestJet Airlines Ltd

Part of the rationale is there is a great deal weight that can be removed by removing the standard seat back entertainment systems, which results in greater fuel-efficiency.

Charging for the service also creates another revenue stream for the airline.

Calin Rovinescu, Air Canada chief executive, said the airline’s market research shows that most people prefer to bring their own devices and are happy to do that.

Because of this, he said he didn’t expect much of a backlash from passengers for having to pay for inflight entertainment – something they used to get for free with the price of a ticket.

“What we’ll be doing with the Rouge product is building it into the price structure, just like we have the buy-on-board products, for those who want to use it,” he said. “For those who are not inclined to use it, they won’t.”